


the light i follow

by thinking_toes



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Charmed (TV) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Shamanism, background wonsik, whitelighter jin, witchy adventures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23120332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinking_toes/pseuds/thinking_toes
Summary: Sisters Hwasa, Solar and Moonbyul have been dealing with the loss of their mother, as well as their newly discovered powers as Charmed ones, when they find themselves facing a new enemy. Threatening everything they hold dear, they must find the monster that's been after them.
Kudos: 1





	1. lurking ghouls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eri_md](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eri_md/gifts).



"OK! Got the lizard!" yelled Hwasa as she burst through the main door of the house. 

She paid little attention to the muddy rain boots she tossed at the entrance, dropping her tote bag and coat next to the rack, and waving around a mason jar with a scared-looking lizard. Solar was in the kitchen, holding the Book of Shadows open for Moonbyul. Despite her motherly appearance, the eldest was the worst cook out of the 3 sisters. Moonbyul was by far the best cook- not only did she work for one of the best restaurants in town, but her skills translated to the best potions, though she hated getting the ingredients, so they often sent Hwasa.  Being an empath meant animals trusted her, too much sometimes, so she was often out in the garden or the park hunting whatever they needed for a potion or other. She'd long gotten past the embarrassment of getting out a mason jar or bag to catch a cockroach (you'd be surprised how many of those you could find on campus), or roadkill (also found plenty around her college).

"Could you please cut its head over the sink this time?" Solar asked with a wrinkled nose.

"And for goodness sake's wash your hands after. It took a month to bathe this potion in moonlight, I'm not letting you contaminate this batch too", Moonbyul added.

Hwasa didn't need to be an empath to know her sisters hadn't forgiven her slip from two months ago. It had been a relatively typical hunt, they'd traced down the negative energy and made the potion. Except Hwasa had contaminated the container with lizard blood. Instead of trapping the ghoul, the blood fed him, and went on a spree that almost killed an innocent and gave Solar a sprained ankle. Hwasa felt horrible. She felt the pain of the sprain, the anger of Moonbyul. Mostly the guilt of being so careless and having put her sisters in danger. Jin had orbed them out of there and healed Solar's ankle in an instant, but their relationship needed a lot more than the intervention from their whitelighter. 

Ever since then they had been bickering more than often. It wasn't uncommon for the sisters to fight. Usually it would be Hwasa and Solar playfully bickering over something dumb, or about schedules or cleaning, and escalating into real bickering until Moonbyul intervened to try and keep the peace.Though usually that resulted in Moonbyul and Solar bickering themselves. Solar would pretend not to be hurt, but Hwasa would feel bad and make a gesture, most times she and Moonbyul would bring tea up to her room to make peace and cuddle with their older sister. 

They hadn't always been this close. In highschool Hwasa decided to go to Korea, to try and figure out some part of herself she couldn't understand while living in the US. Solar and her mom tried to stop her, but there is no stopping Hwasa once she puts her mind to something. She left for two years, until their mom suddenly died. Moonbyul moved back from college, Hwasa moved back from Korea. It was after the funeral that they found out about their family secret- about their powers. The sisters always felt odd, and they always thought it was their koreanness. Their foreignness. They were second generation immigrants, after all, living in a White Neighborhood. Of course they stood out. While that was certainly part of it, being descended from a long line of priestesses didn't help either. Their mother had suppressed their powers to keep demons away from them, but the seal broke when she died. They came back from the funeral and a handsome man was standing in their living room. Dressed in all black and impossibly handsome, he introduced himself as Jin, their whitelighter. An agent of light to guide priestesses through training.

Jin 

Jin 

The thought is enough to summon him to the kitchen. He orbed in, the sisters were showered in light for a second, and their beautiful friend looked at them, annoyed.

"Are you not done with the potion yet?"

"Don't get snappy with me, if Hwasa drains the lizard properly this time it should be done in a jiffy," Moonbyul shot back.

Something hot burned through Hwasa. Too hot, it burned. She screamed, dropped the mason jar and Moonbyul froze time to stop the lizard from escaping. Her powers don’t affect her sister, but they stop the lizard from escaping. Solar ran to her, holding her by the shoulders while Jin held his hands over her. Gentle light washed over her, but the burning sensation was gone, leaving her sweating and shaken. 

"What happened?" Moonbyul carefully asked, while picking up the lizard by the tail.

Hwasa looked up, confused. Jin and Solar were giving her some space now, but she could still feel the suspicion in the room. 

"I don't know. Something felt like- like it was burning through my head."

"I didn't feel anything. There was nothing demonic, no negative energy trying to possess you." Jin said, eyebrows raised. 

"Well, maybe you need to start going to sleep early." Solar added, "How about we finish that potion?" 

Hwasa felt the sting of the comment. The skepticism from Jin, and the annoyance from Moonbyul who wanted to finish the potion and sleep. She probably has a late shift at the restaurant again, thought Hwasa. Solar means well too, as does Jin. It all felt heavy on her chest, but she took a deep breath and took the lizard from Moonbyul, took it to the deep double sink and drained it. She made sure it was properly drained this time, and washed her hands three times before handing over the dead lizard to her sister.

"Ok, last ingredient. And you're sure-" 

"Yes, Solar, I am sure."

"Three turns clockwise, three turns counterclockwise, then we let it rest." With a little  _ poof _ the concoction was done. They were ready for that ghoul.


	2. to overwhelm a heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moonbyul is missing her mom

"You've gotta be kidding me" Moonbyul muttered angrily to herself as she stalked over to the entrance of the pretentious restaurant. It was usually lined with customers, but that day it was lined with police tape. Moonbyul felt like she’d barely had time to grieve the loss of her mom, she and her sisters were under a constant barrage of attacks from demons and ghosts, dead people with resentments and their new duties as mudang. Working at the restaurant was physically exhausting, and deeply satisfying. So if that police tape had something to do with demons she might lose it.

Wonsik saw her from his patrol car, which Moonbyul ignored. Instead she made a beeline for the backdoor, hoping to get to work on time. Unfortunately her friend has cursedly long legs and he reached her before she could get even close. 

"Hey Byul! I was calling out, you didn't hear me?" He smiled at her like a goof and it somehow made her angrier. She made a show of taking off her earbuds, though there's no music on her phone.

"Sorry, didn't hear you." She was being unusually curt, trying to get him to leave. Instead it made him worry.

"Hey are you ok?" He looked at her with concern.

Not only was he a childhood friend, he was one of the only people who knew about their family powers. His concern was not fake, or an attempt at getting something from her, but she still broke her own rule and froze him when he reached out his hand to touch her shoulder. There was something about that attempt at comfort. It made her impossibly angry. And then she felt it, hot, burning through her head like Hwasa described it. She doubled over and gasped for breath, beads of sweat on her brow. And then it was gone. Just as sudden as it had appeared. She lost concentration long enough to slip on her timefreeze. Wonsik continued to reach out and his brain caught up to reality- he saw a gasping Moonbyul and correctly assumed something magic-related had happened. He grabbed his friend by the shoulder and led her away from the circus of the police investigation. 

"Hey, hey, you ok?" He looked truly upset, and Moonbyul felt something akin to shame for having tried to avoid such a good friend.

"No..I- I'm not sure what's going on. What happened here anyway?" 

"Oh, a guy tried to rob the cash register and then tried to start a fight. I think it's not uh- for you guys to worry about. You’ll probably have the day off after this anyway, you should take a break."

"Yeah, ok. Thanks, Wonsik." Moonbyul smiled, grateful for her friend. Her phone buzzed and her boss had sent her a text giving her the day off- no details about the robbery. She sighed in frustration and started walking back to her car, waving to Wonsik who had already headed back to work. 

So she wasn’t good at charms like Solar, or had Hwasa’s knowledge of shamanism. Moonbyul was good at structure and order, like following recipes- maybe being the middle child forced her to be balanced like that. She was the only line cook to last longer than six month in that restaurant, though she wanted to quit every day, and she was the one her sisters always went to for comfort food or potion making after their mom was gone. Even on days when she was so bone-tired all she wanted to do was sleep, Moonbyul forced herself to make her sisters’ favorites. They were so brilliant, and she felt so left behind. It was pressing down on her, kept her pulled taut. Perhaps it was time to go visit mom..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a short update, but i'll post the next chapter soon!


	3. borrowed comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moonbyul leans on a friend to sort out her heart

Solar was finishing up the last of her chores before heading out, when she heard the heavy lock of the front door. Odd at this time of day, she thought, and went to check if it was Hwasa skipping classes again. Instead, she was surprised to see Moonbyul walking in.

"Why are you home?" Solar realized she was coming off a little aggressive, but she was just surprised to see Moonbyul home. Shouldn't she be at work?

"Um, I live here. At least I thought I did.." Moonbyul knows she's being sarcastic, but something about her sister's tone pissed her off.

" _ Do _ you live here? You spend all your time at that restaurant.." Solar scoffs in response. It really wasn't fair. But also why was she suddenly so angry?

It didn't matter, the words were out, and the tension was about to erupt into another fight when Jin orbed in.

"Stop it. S. T. O. P. Stop it." Jin signaled both of them like a traffic cop. "Lately you three insist on making me work too much." Jin complained when he saw the two sisters turn away from each other. "You have to work together," he insisted, though Solar had walked away into the living room to get her bag and coat, and Moonbyul was clearly not listening. "Your powers rely on your sisterhood, on your bond!" Jin practically yelled after them.   
  
Solar was clearly leaving anyway, as she yanked on her coat and wrapped a scarf roughly around her neck, she yelled back at Moonbyul something about dinner, which Moonbyul ignored. Why couldn’t her sisters understand? Why did they make things so hard for her? 

She heard Solar slam the door on her way out, jumping at the noise, then making her way upstairs to her room to get changed and find something comfortable to wear to the cemetery. If she wanted to go visit her mom she wanted to be comfy. Maybe she could find her mom’s nice fluffy sweater? The cold of their city made it necessary, but their mom somehow pulled off thick sweaters as incredibly chic, even when they were indoors. She got cold easily, so she’d kept many of her mom’s clothes. They were her touchstone. Moonbyul could hear Jin walking upstairs behind her, but she stripped anyway, looking for her sweater as he knocked on the door.

“Can I come in?” His soft voice floated to her. 

“Do you really need permission? You came in today anyway. You could just orb right into my room right now..” Moonbyul wasn't really annoyed at Jin, but he Had gotten in the middle of their fight, so if her energy spilled towards him- wasn't it a bit his fault?

“Hey, what’s going on? You guys-” He spoke through the almost closed door, waiting for permission to come in. 

“Jin just. Do you even know what time it is?” Where was it.. Had Hwasa stolen her clothes again? 

“Uh, 2:30pm?”

“No, dummy.. I mean. It’s that time of year..” If she stole it and stretched it out.. Or worse if she modified her sweater like she did that Florence + the Machine t-shirt..

“Oh”

“And it’s the first anniversary, and so much has changed in our lives since then. I know we’ll go visit her soon, but I just miss her so much. I need to see her, ok?” Moonbyul still hadn't found her change of clothes, but got frustrated enough that she just grabbed the first thing on her drawer. 

“Let me take you then.” Jin offered softly. Moonbyul smiled and opened the door to her room fully. She stretched out her hand, reaching for Jin’s hands. Almost immediately Moonbyul started to feel the warm pull of Jin’s power when they heard a sudden crash outside the house. 

They looked at each other in alarm and Moonbyul ran to the big window on the other side of her room. She pulled the curtains back to see the side of their yard, still patchy with half-melted snow, the trash cans knocked over, and a woman running away.

“What the...”

“Should I follow her?” asked Jin behind her.

“I don’t know.. Maybe? She didn't  _ seem _ dangerous..”

“Maybe I can put a trace on her..” Jin said pensively as his mellow light enveloped him. 

He was gone with the light and Moonbyul was left alone with her thoughts. She decided to go downstairs and investigate. 

Moonbyul rushed downstairs, past the living room, into the kitchen, through the backdoor to the garden in their backyard. There was a slim passage from there to the front of the house, where they stored the garbage bins, and Moonbyul knew it to be the exact view from her room. She started slowly prodding around, straightening the trash cans, looking for clues to find out anything about the mysterious person sneaking around their house, when Hwasa’s figure rolls in on her bike. Wearing her sweater. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Yes, well..” Hwasa felt the rush of negative emotions from her sister, they were intense and sudden, but now Hwasa could sense something else under Moonbyul’s annoyance. There was a bitterness to it that felt  _ alien _ , “Listen, I figured something out. Where’s Solar? We should probably call Jin too.”

“No, don’t ca-”

Before she could finish her warning, Jin had already appeared before them. Hwasa looked at her sister confused.

“Why can’t I call him?”

“Because we discovered something too, and you just ruined it. Again. Just go back to class, I’ll handle it.” Moonbyul started heading back into the house, pulling Jin along, and muttered under her breath, “You really need to start being more responsible, Hwasa.”

“I AM being responsible! I’m doing my job as a witch to figure out what’s going on!” She knew better than to respond to her sister, but she also couldn't hold back the biting remark.

“Oh really?” Vicious words were pooling on her tongue like venom, and Moobyul couldn’t stop them from spilling out, “Then why is it you haven’t graduated? Why are we hunting the same ghoul again? Because of you! You’re careless and irresponsible. You can't even help in a fight, you fucked up the brew, got Solar hurt, and you’re stealing mom’s sweaters!” 

Jin was in shock. “Hey now, Byul, Hwasa,” 

Before he could say anything Hwasa’s eyes were already full of tears. She pulled the sweater off, threw it in Moonbyul’s general direction, and ran into the kitchen- away from the cold in her thin t-shirt. 

“That was way too harsh” Jin said as he turned to look at Moonbyul. “She’s trying her best too, you know..”

“Yeah... I don't even know where that came from.” Moonbyul sighed. 

“It’s ok. You guys can talk about it later.”

“Did you find anything?” 

“Not really,” Jin answered with a frown, “by the time i orbed her trace had disappeared.”

“Right, so that means...?”

“You guys better vanquish the ghoul soon- I’m pretty sure whatever that was, it’s supernatural and it’s coming back sooner rather than later.”

Byul nodded solemnly at her friend. 

“Be prepared,” Jin said as he orbed and disappeared in a shower of light. 

Byul sighed once more and headed back into the kitchen. She washed her hands, put water on the kettle and turned it on. She grabbed some fruit, washed and sliced it carefully, and carefully put it all on a bowl. She then grabbed a tray and placed the bowl and Hwasa’s favorite cup, where she dropped a glob of citron tea in. She stirred the tea with the boiling water, mulling over her guilty conscience. She grabbed another cup, thought about it, and grabbed a third from the counter. Solar liked sweets, so Moonbyul added a second s[oonful of the thick marmalade-like honey citron tea. The sweater Hwasa threw at her she left folded over a chair, and she slowly took the tray upstairs. As she was taking her first steps, Solar walked in through the front door. 

She looked at her sister and made a soft whining sound as she pulled off her boots, dropping her coat on the foyer to hurry over to her younger sister and help her with the tray. Both older sisters went together to Hwasa.

Except Hwasa was unconscious and lay unmoving in the middle of her room.

Both sisters dropped the tray at the same time, rushing to Hwasa, and collapsing next to her when the burning pain seared through their heads. It was a somewhat familiar pain now, though they had no idea where it came from. 

_ Help _

_ Help us, please. _

Though neither of the sisters said it out loud, the plea was overwhelming and Jin orbed next to Moonbyul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's all platonic in this au.. friendships are great y'all. Cherish your friends~


	4. misty eyed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Right," Solar said firmly in an attempt to reassure and bring order to chaos, "We have the potion ready, yeah?" Moonbyul nodded "And do we all still remember the spell?" Hwasa nodded as well. "Then let's go to the cemetery and summon that ghoul."
> 
> "Uh, I have an essay due tonight.." Hwasa interjected. The incredulous looks around her made her shrug, "Moonbyul just told me I need to be more responsible."
> 
> "Alright,” Solar sighed, “as soon as you're done with your homework we'll go summon the ghoul."
> 
> Or, the sisters prepare for their supernatural encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! but we have a chapter here in the spirit of spoopy season. the next chapter is almost done, and the rest of the story of outlined so the hard stuff is done.. hopefully i can finish this before the year is done. 
> 
> kudos and comments are really encouraging, so please let me know if you like this~

Hwasa opened her eyes at last. She had been moved to her bed, and her sisters were lying next to her, looking at her with deep concern. There was a chorus of “you’re awake” and Solar squished her in a tight hug as Moonbyul patted her leg. Jin sniffed and sighed in relief.

“What-”

“‘-happened?” finished Solar. “It’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

“Now that you’re awake, maybe you should tell your sisters what we saw,” said Jin to Moonbyul “It might be related.”

Her sisters looked at her inquisitively and Moonbyul looked at them in turn.

“Ok, so before, in my room, I was talking with Jin and, through my bedroom window, well, there was something or someone. They ran as soon as we noticed their presence.”

“Great, easy peasy, no problem. Ha-Ha,” Solar laughed nervously as she looked around, feeling overwhelmed and dangerously on the edge of something like panic. Hwasa took a deep breath and held her hand, trying to use her powers to calm down her sister.

“Well, in any case you need to get rid of the ghoul tonight, and prepare for the next attack from the next demon.” Jin nods at himself, “Might as well stick around and help you three, since I can't seem to leave without having you call me back."

"Right," Solar said firmly in an attempt to reassure and bring order to chaos, "We have the potion ready, yeah?" Moonbyul nodded "And do we all still remember the spell?" Hwasa nodded as well. "Then let's go to the cemetery and summon that ghoul."

"Uh, I have an essay due tonight.." Hwasa interjected. The incredulous looks around her made her shrug, "Moonbyul just told me I need to be more responsible."

"Alright,” Solar sighed, “as soon as you're done with your homework we'll go summon the ghoul."

The ridiculous nature of the sentence made Hwasa laugh first, then Moonbyul, and finally Jin and Solar joined in. It felt good, so good, to share a laugh with her sisters. Lately their relationship felt strained. Their new duties had put stress on her sisters, Hwasa recognized, but they could always work through trouble. She suddenly remembered that bitter tint to Moonbyul's feelings.

A theory started to form.

Her sisters left her room, and she could feel their high spirits after their laughing together but she could also sense that bitterness, almost like an aftertaste, if she focused hard enough. It even tinted Jin's usually happy aura. Hwasa found it odd, and there was that odd feeling that she couldn't shake off, so when she opened her laptop, she did not go to her essay like she told her sisters- instead she did some research. There was an old story from the Compendium of Oral Literature of Korea that told of a man who went against the king... if only she could find it again.

After a deep dive into her JSTOR account, Hwasa found what she needed. The last time they went after the ghoul they'd chased it into the cemetery, hoping to avoid being seen doing witchcraft, but also to avoid other humans who could be affected by the ghoul. It had led them into a labyrinthine path, then suddenly stopped in front of a mausoleum. The imposing marble pillars and chains slowed them down, until the ghoul appeared in a physical form- dressed in a handsome suit, with dark curls and sharp features, the man glared at them imperiously. The sisters had assumed the figure had led them to its resting place, where he could draw more power, but they had their potions on hand and threw them straight at the ghoul. Except he disappeared, and the potions went crashing into the doors of the mausoleum.

That was when hell broke loose.

The old man in charge of taking care of the cemetery heard the noise and went after them, chasing them through the confusing paths. Solar tried to get her sisters to hide so they could check if they got rid of the ghoul, worried about the human approaching them with a ghoul on the loose, while she approached the old keeper. However, the old man stopped suddenly. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and Solar knew he'd been possessed by the ghoul. Solar used her telekinesis to break off the chains from the mausoleum door and tie the human, but being possessed, he moved too fast. He pushed her down, her foot twisting under her as she tried to keep balance, and he continued to rush towards Moonbyul. Hwasa went to help Solar get up, looking around for anything that might help them, and finding the ground covered in golden sage. Moonbyul in her panic had called for Jin and frozen the possessed man, but her control was slipping. Hwasa picked some of the sage and stuck it to the old man's forehead before grabbing her sisters' hands and asking Jin in a hurry to take them away.

It had been close.

Since that incident two months ago, their bickering had gotten worse and worse, and Hwasa had the slight suspicion that what they were after was not a ghoul after all. She lit some candles and went to meditate; after much practice, she'd found meditation was the best way to get in touch with her powers. Going into a trance-like state, she let her mind wander wherever it took her. At first it was hard to let go, but slowly her thoughts blew past, like leaves in the breeze, taking their own path without need for her to know the wheres or hows or whys of each one. Between images and colors and smells, Hwasa plucked leaves from her inner mind. She turned them over in her hand, then let them go as she pleased, content to let them wander until they could be useful again.

It was then that she remembered the image of the ghoul when he showed his body. Behind him, the mausoleum stood imperiously, with a golden plaque reading _C. T. Wyatt_ and the cold solitude of death that radiated from it could be felt even in her mind's eye. It was then that she had a premonition.

She was back at the cemetery, in front of the mausoleum. Her sisters stood next to her, holding the potion to neutralize the spirit, looking for the young man who'd appeared before them last time. Instead, someone emerges from the trees, walking towards them. Their pace is unhurried as their steps crunch the leaves beneath their feet; they're holding sage in one hand and a hematite stone in the other, and they're trying to tell her something. There is a slow mist growing around her, and Hwasa starts walking toward the stranger, trying to parse through the static of the mist, but before she can reach the mysterious figure the mist thickens into a wall around her. She can barely see her hand in front of her, the voices of her sisters are muffled and drowned out, so Hwasa can't help but scream when a hand breaks from the mist and grabs her, pulling her.

The hand turns out to belong to the stranger. A young woman smiles at her apologetically, sweet dimples making themselves known, and, finally, Hwasa can hear her.

"Did I startle you?" the woman asks, mirth in her eyes, but the gentle curve of her smile lets Hwasa know she's not entirely making fun of her, "Sorry about that, but out of the three of you, you were the only one open to talking to me." Her image flickers, as if she's not completely solid, though Hwasa had certainly felt her hand on her wrist only a few moments ago.

She'd tried talking to her sisters? "Were you the one sneaking in our backyard?" Hwasa asks, suspicious, but the knowledge relieves an anxious knot in her shoulder. A witch trying to harm them would not reveal her face, would not make themselves vulnerable in a spiritual connection.

"Well, don't say it like that, I was trying to contact you without being seen by mortals, but your guys' energy was seriously negative and I couldn't send a message my usual way. I tried to Contact you in your dreams too, but this mist is really annoying,"

"So you're not the one behind this mist?"

"No, that's the _dokkaebi_ ," her face turned serious. "We don't have a lot of time, let's-"

But Hwasa didn't find out what the girl wanted, because the mist overtook them again, suffusing the air and suffocating her until she woke up gasping. She looked around wildly, unsure how to breathe again, her lungs cold and her head a mess of images. Warm hands held her shoulders and shook her gently, and Jin's warm eyes bore into hers and she found herself entranced. As if from far away, she heard him counting, one, two, three, until she paced her breathing to his counting. Slowly, she steadied herself.

There were no rushed steps or loud voices next to her, so Hwasa first asked. "Where are my sisters?"

Jin only raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to tell me what happened there?"

"I need my sisters to hear it too," Hwasa explained.

"Huh, interesting, because I thought you were going to do homework. I was wondering what kind of homework requires a meditation spell, one that drains your yin energy down to almost nothing, by the way," Jin's voice has been getting progressively louder, in a way it never really did before and it has Hwasa shrinking back, "Did you know I had to break off your connection? Do you know how dangerous that is? If you'd been possessed, or if the ghoul had drained all your yin energy?! What then??" Jin is still grabbing her shoulder, tighter now, and he ends his speech by hugging Hwasa to himself, clearly frightened by the experience of seeing his friend in a dangerous situation.

Hwasa, overwhelmed by the experience herself and now by the outburst from her whitelighter, felt her eyes burn, tears gathering and chest shaking with the effort to contain her sobs. Feeling her shaking body, Jin pulled himself off, trying to think quickly how to comfort his friend. Before he could say something, Hwasa reached her hand out to pat his cheek.

"You care so well for us Jin," she smiled and her eyes turned into half moons, tears spilling, "I'm sorry I keep making so much work for you."

Jin choked out a laugh, "Aish, what will I do with you kid, always making a mess of things," Hwasa ducked her head, sniffing and giggling at his tone. Jin took this opportunity to pat her head lightly, "Isn't it a plot to keep me here with you guys? Am I that handsome?"

At that moment, Moonbyul poked her head in the door, asking "Did something happen?" She'd been out in the garden, picking some herbs and putting together some sage and marigolds into pretty little boutonnieres. They wouldn't have the same effect as using them in a spell, but having been bound by a loved one there was a raw kind of magic in them. Some magic was narrowly focused and powerful, some was more broad, if a little weaker. A magic object bound by an act of love, an act of sacrifice, or an act of rage was deeply powerful- it grew over time, absorbing the energy of the wearer.

Moonbyul tossed her sister one of the boutonnieres, then surprised Jin by handing him the second one.

"Won't you need one?" Jin asked, perplexed.

"Mine is in my purse," Moonbyul explained.

They were startled by the heavy sound of the front door opening, "Solar is back early," Moonbyul mentioned as she left the room.

Jin stood, helping Hwasa up. He looked at her in askance, but she pushed him towards the door, walking behind him. She thought of the apparition, the sharply dressed man with distinctly Asian features, and the plaque on the mausoleum reading C.T. Wyatt. The witch who hijacked her premonition was right. It was time for Hwasa to tell her sisters what she knew.

**Author's Note:**

> This was first published on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/thinking_toes), i just cleaned it up a bit and posted it here. hopefully i'll keep updating regularly, but feel free to talk to me on twt~
> 
> -Maria


End file.
